Within the Los Angeles Lakers, there had been a belief that a late January team meeting in Memphis could've been the beginning of Dwight Howard's future with the franchise, or merely the beginning of the end. No restraints, no mercy, no holding back.Kobe Bryant had climbed into Howard in a way that was startling, sobering, a moment of penetrating and unpleasant truths

Every time you trash me to teammates, it gets back to me, witnesses said Bryant told Howard in the visiting locker room of the FedEx Forum. Every time you do one of your impersonations when I walk out of the room, I find out. Everything tumbled out of Bryant, one grievance after another, and the Lakers coaches and players sat watching the two biggest personas in the room push closer together, or irreconcilably apart.

Bryant had come to rage against the idea that Howard's clownish disposition could overtake the locker room, the Lakers' culture, and had warned Howard that he would never, ever let it happen. He hated it with Shaquille O'Neal, but Shaq performed on a championship plane for the Lakers and delivered a disposition to dominate on the floor.

"Kobe talked to Dwight in a way that I don't think anyone one had ever talked to him – not in Orlando, not here, not in his life, I'm betting," one witness in the room told Yahoo! Sports. "He's been coddled, and Kobe wasn't going to coddle him."

Despite Howard's recuperation from his back injury, few believed he had been playing with the proper passion and purpose – not the coaches, not the players, not opponents – and those within the Lakers understood Howard's most rebellious weapon was never confrontation, but holding back on the court.

There were bigger issues than Bryant and Howard in the room, but everyone understood that this meeting – first reported in the Los Angeles Times – had been about the two superstars, about the tension that had been building with the losing, about the push and pull between selling Howard on staying a Laker, or begging him.

In the end, Kobe Bryant didn't chase Dwight Howard out of Los Angeles, nor did Mike D'Antoni, nor did anyone in the employ of the franchise. The Lakers weren't for Howard, and Howard wasn't for the Lakers. Every executive and coach who has ever worked with Howard will tell you: He needs to be the face of the franchise and he needs unconditional love.Those weren't immediately available to him with the Lakers, and they'll be showered upon him in Houston now.

"If he missed two big free throws in Orlando, it was forgotten in 30 minutes," one league official with ties to Howard's past says. "If he missed them in L.A., they talked about it for a week. With Dwight, he has to be the face of the franchise. Anything less than that, and it would be difficult for him to function at his highest level."

In every way, the Houston Rockets are perfectly suited for Howard. He's 27 years old and needs to start competing for championships. He wants to be the biggest star in the franchise, and he gets it. He wants to be the biggest personality in the room, and he becomes it. He wants to play for a Hall of Fame big man, he says, and he has been afforded that with Kevin McHale.

"The conditions need to be lined up perfectly to get the most out of Dwight," one team official who has history with Howard told Yahoo! Sports. "When he's engaged, he can carry a team like few else in the league. Houston is suited for him."

Edit: Cool, I see you fixed it. Obviously I'm not a mod, but ya' know, just tryin' to help a fellow member out. You could also post "full article inside link" or if you wanna' read the rest of the article, click the link, etc. I do the first and I know it's not totally necessary, but I do it just in case the people reading the article through here just assume whomever the OP is posted the full thing and don't bother clicking the link as well to read the rest, but again, obviously you don't have to, just a suggestion is all.

Yeah, it was nice to know that a big reason he chose Houston other than the fact he liked that they ran an "Orlando Magic" style was their almost guarantee of landing Josh Smith after signing him to make up for not having a bench among other weaknesses of that team.

So yeah....

How'd that turn out?

Oops....

Maybe if Dwight had waited to the 10th he maybe could have seen these things happen before making his decision. But there's no turning back now is there.

Also something Shaq said today really hit me, and I never knew it till today. Shaq actually went on today and admitted that he never really grasped the triangle.... shocker to me honestly.

Pretty much what Shaq said that he never grasped the triangle. But that he found ways to make it work with the help of Kobe. He said that Dwight having to say "I need the ball like this, I want it in the post here, give it to me off the roll here, do this, do that for me" is the reason he'll never be as great. Shaq said he never got the triangle and Phil never referred to him as a triangle player and to this day he never acknowledges himself as a triangle center but that him and Kobe found ways to make it work together and be successful. Which makes sense as Kobe was usually the one who was feeding Shaq the ball or finding him and said that Phil would run triangle for the FORWARDS and that Kobe would find ways to utilize him(Shaq) in a system he didn't understand(the triangle) and that Phil considered him an "outside" of the triangle player.

So Shaq pretty much feels that Dwight's "system" excuse, is just an excuse. He said ultimately it doesn't come down to the coach, and it doesn't come down to the system, that it comes down to the player and when you're as dominant of a center as you proclaim to be and what you can do with your teammates. Basically saying that Dwight should have been able to handed a system unfamiliar and still found a way to dominate in it. He said if he could find ways to dominate while not understanding a bit of the triangle, especially with the help of a player like Kobe that Dwight has no room to be crying. And ultimately feels the "system" excuse is a crutch that will keep Dwight from being as great as he says he wants to be and that eventually Dwight is going to realize that HE is the problem above all else and that ultimately.

made me wonder if this team had struggled under Phil whether be it through injuries or anything else the reason why. If this team had failed this year. What would have stopped Dwight from saying "well you know.. the triangle just ain't right for me." And bolting anyway?

Dwights a extremely good player with a dumb way of thinking. Difference between shaq and dwight is shaq didnt care about the scutiny and he dominated it. He got people respect by winning. Dwight just expected everything to be handed to him while he just goofs around.

Kobe may have given Dwight the same type of speech Michael Jordan gave Dennis Rodman in 1995. Did you ever see Jordan's teammates goofing around constantly? Rodman was just doing outlandish things off the court...but basketball was a very serious game for him, especially when he became a Bull.

Kobe may have given Dwight the same type of speech Michael Jordan gave Dennis Rodman in 1995. Did you ever see Jordan's teammates goofing around constantly? Rodman was just doing outlandish things off the court...but basketball was a very serious game for him, especially when he became a Bull.

as my dad used to say "There will be plenty of time to goof around at the parade."

Kobe may have given Dwight the same type of speech Michael Jordan gave Dennis Rodman in 1995. Did you ever see Jordan's teammates goofing around constantly? Rodman was just doing outlandish things off the court...but basketball was a very serious game for him, especially when he became a Bull.

Exactly I am positive MJ constatnly pushed his teammates, even rookies to be better and the consatn pressure, I rememeber in the Magic/Bird documentary the same thing was stated by Bird, if you were on his team, you were expected to put your heart and soul into the team.

All these teammates at various times wanted to , and some probably did leave, but that's called knowing who you have by your sides at the end. This is today's NBA, everyone wants to get their brand and 'hopefully' win big, but the sacrifice and dedication isn't strongly emphasized anymore.

See, that's why I'm not too mad at the organization. Yes, they could have done better at recruiting him but at the end of the day, it's more Howard not wanting to be Laker than the organization not trying too much to recruit him. Also, this decision or indecision thing, showed Howard's true color. He has the body of a NBA superstar but he has the mentality of high school player.

To me, it showed that Howard doesn't like to "suffer" he just wants to have "fun." Unfortunately, to be a champion, you have to "suffer" first before you can achieve greatness. Recent example: LeBron James. He was having "fun" in his first nine years and he thought he will win a ring just on pure talent alone. Little did he know that you have to sacrifice a lot from yourself and you have to be "selfish" in order to be a champion. Once he realized that, he became a two time NBA champion.

Unfortunately, for Howard he doesn't realize it. He thinks having Harden, Parsons, McHale will help him win a ring in a few years but it is not the case. After what he has done in this free agency, other teams will look at him and say, "Who do you think this guy is?!" Now, other players and coaches will really test his mettle. But this time, he doesn't have a Kobe to back him up. I don't think Harden and Parsons have that mentality to catch him in the back. But we will see how he handles "losing"